Issaquah updates fire‑permit fees, agrees to pass collected fees to Eastside Fire & Rescue

Issaquah’s City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 10 to update municipal fire‑permit fees and to remit (pass through) collected fire‑permit revenue to Eastside Fire & Rescue. The decision follows an analytic review by Eastside and city staff demonstrating that existing fees often under‑recover plan‑review and inspection costs given current workloads.

Eastside officials (Assistant Chief Will Ajo and Fire Marshal Jeremy Hicks) told the council they standardized naming conventions and fee lines across partner jurisdictions and used permit‑level analytics (hours per permit, fully‑loaded staff costs) to design fees that better match the time required for plan review, inspections and final signoffs. Examples given in the presentation showed increases on several permit types (residential sprinkler, multiunit townhomes, complex tenant improvements), but Eastside staff said Issaquah’s proposed fees remain at-or-below many regional comparators.

The Planning, Development & Environment committee reviewed the proposal and recommended adoption, with the request that staff monitor whether the fee increases create development barriers or hardship. Council member and committee chair Zach Hall noted the committee’s view that the changes align fees with cost of service and support sustainable growth in review capacity. Council adopted Ordinance No. 3122 (amending Issaquah Municipal Code sections related to international fire code operational permits) and authorized collection and remittance of fire permit fees to Eastside Fire & Rescue by voice vote (recorded as unanimous 7–0).

Council asked staff to track revenue and any adverse impacts and to report back if monitoring shows unintended consequences. Eastside said the adjusted fees will support consistent regional service levels and permit processing times.